Preferred Wiper Blades

STexan

STexan

EF4
Joined
Feb 11, 2012
Messages
319
Location
Athens, TX
I'm having a run of bad luck lately with wiper blades. I always make generous efforts to seek out the best available blades I can find, money no object. However, the last 2 pairs I've bought have turned out squeaky, streaky, noisy, or just generally ineffective.

My windshield blades (a more costly Rain-x option) were bought last November and already now squeak real bad when they get the least bit dry. And my rear window blade now squeaks if it's not real wet but it's original equipment. I've got more then a few video clips lately where there is an annoying "squeak" every now and then because I left the vehicle on to get a quick clip.

I'm driving a Yukon and I don't think "wind lift" is an issue but I have been known to exceed the speed limit in rain. Any recommendations or ones I should steer clear of?
 
Interesting that you're bringing up this issue, as just this week I emailed one of the hard-core chasers "out there", telling him that in my opinion, his wipers are ruining his videos. The problem is that he has installed these aftermarket "super-swipe-starwars-metal-claw-mondo-wipers" on his vehicle, and every time they commence their downstroke....you hear an obnoxious heavy "thud" over and over and over again. Once you notice it, you can't focus on anything BUT those heavy wipers, and it truly ruins the great footage that he's risked his life for. They get the windshield wiped dry beautifully.....but at a terrible expense. They weigh too much.
 
The high-end blades are noticeably better than cheap/OEM blades, especially if you need to clear off dirt and mud. I assume everyone here is already using Rain-X or equivalent on their windshields to assist in water runoff?

In my experience, Rain-X blades have more usable life than Bosch Micro-edge, but the Bosch blades work better overall to clear off rain. Both blades are nearly equal in performance for the first few months, but the Iowa Summer sun takes its toll on anything rubber, so whatever you buy in Spring is going to have marginal performace by Winter. Rain-X blades clear snow/frost slightly better than Bosch. If you have an older vehicle, a little shot of WD-40 to lubricate the arm hinges will help the wiper spring hold them against your glass better.

I bought a new chase vehicle for 2015 and just changed the wipers to Autozone Duralast blades a week ago, partly because options were somewhat limited in St Joseph, Missouri. No opinion on them yet; they seemed to work okay in the torrential HP mess in Texas last week, though.
 
Ive noticed theyre all different depending on makes and models. I had good luck with rain-x on my lancer with no issues ever and lasted over a year. Tried them on my wrx and they were crap out of the box.

Personally if you can retrofit newer model camry or corolla blades and just change the inserts when needed youll be better off...imo
The initial cost of the blades are pricey, but 10 bucks per insert i havent seen them fail in under 3 years or 60k miles
 
It's been obvious to me over the past several vehicles that the shape of the windshield makes a BIG difference in how well wipers work. Curvy windshields definitely have problems with the wiper staying against the glass, especially at high speeds.
 
I use Bosch as well on both of my cars (the relevant one to ST is the Sube), and I've been happy with them. They hold windshield shape better than the old school metal-bodied stuff. They also deal with speed and wind acceptably. I replace them before the summer, and again before the winter on the Sube, whereas the other car goes into hibernation. Getting six months out of a set feels normal to me, because soft rubber doesn't stay good and soft long when it has to stand up to sun and snow.
 
My last set were Rain-X Latitude. They did not do a very good job of staying on the glass in windy driving conditions, or even 75+ driving on the interstate. So this time around I tried Bosch Icon..... I would say they are slightly better, but still have trouble with them in windy conditions, and 75+ speeds.

Vehicle: 2010 Toyota Tundra Double Cab

At this point I've pretty much accepted that this is something I will just have to put up with regardless of which brand wiper blades I use.

-m@
 
Matt Salo said:
My last set were Rain-X Latitude. They did not do a very good job of staying on the glass in windy driving conditions, or even 75+ driving on the interstate. So this time around I tried Bosch Icon..... I would say they are slightly better, but still have trouble with them in windy conditions, and 75+ speeds.

Vehicle: 2010 Toyota Tundra Double Cab

At this point I've pretty much accepted that this is something I will just have to put up with regardless of which brand wiper blades I use.

-m@
Click to expand...
You might be better with oem blades as lomg as theyre not tje hydro-sometjing style and can replace the rubber inserts imstead of the entire blade.
I was a toyota tech for a few years
 
The key is to replace them at the start of EVERY chase season. If that means only getting cheapies it's totally worth it...the difference between wipers is minimal in the first few months but even the best wiper will be worse than the worst after a winter and a year has passed. I've used the dirt-cheap Anco's for years (now branded Super Tech at Walmart) and carry a spare in the trunk in case a hail strike takes one out. Zero streaking or squeaking.
 
STexan said:
I'm having a run of bad luck lately with wiper blades. I always make generous efforts to seek out the best available blades I can find, money no object. However, the last 2 pairs I've bought have turned out squeaky, streaky, noisy, or just generally ineffective.

My windshield blades (a more costly Rain-x option) were bought last November and already now squeak real bad when they get the least bit dry. And my rear window blade now squeaks if it's not real wet but it's original equipment. I've got more then a few video clips lately where there is an annoying "squeak" every now and then because I left the vehicle on to get a quick clip.

I'm driving a Yukon and I don't think "wind lift" is an issue but I have been known to exceed the speed limit in rain. Any recommendations or ones I should steer clear of?
Click to expand...
RainX
 
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